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Report  on  international  action  and 
machinery  regulating  labor  and 
international  labor  opinion  as  to 
peace  terms 


r 


THE  LIBRARY 
OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


REPORT 


ON 


INTERNATIONAL  ACTION  AND  MACHINERY 
REGULATING  LABOR 


AND 


INTERNATIONAL  LABOR  OPINION 
AS  TO  PEACE  TERMS 


UNIYERSS1" 

rv         1956 

LIBRA 
GOVT.  TvOOM 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 
1919 


CONFIDENTIAL 


REPORT 


ON 


INTERNATIONAL  ACTION  AND  MACHINERY 
REGULATING  LABOR 


AND 


INTERNATIONAL  LABOR  OPINION 
AS  TO  PEACE  TERMS 


WASHINGTON 
GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 

1919 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

A.  Introduction 5 

B.  Unofficial  International  Action  to  Promote  Protective  Labor  Legislation. . .  5 

I.  Socialist  Internationale 5 

II.  International  trade-union  movement 6 

a.  International  Trades  Secretariat 6 

b.  International  Secretariat 7 

III.  Semi-official  associations  for  economic  and  social  reform 8 

a.  International  Federation  for  the  Observation  of  Sunday 8 

b.  Permanent  International  Committee  on  Social  Insurance 8 

c.  International  Congress  on  Occupational  Diseases 9 

d.  International  Association  on  Unemployment 9 

e.  International  Association  for  Labor  Legislation 9 

C.  Official  International  Action  Regulating  Labor  Conditions 10 

I.  History  of  official  international  agreements 10 

II.  Volume  of  agreements '. 12 

III.  Subject  matter  dealt  -with 12 

IV.  International  machinery  suggested  by  agreements 13 

D.  International  Labor  and  Socialist  Opinion  on  the  Peace  Settlement 14 

I.     Labor  and  socialist  conferences  during  the  war 14 

a.  Inter-allied 14 

b.  International 16 

c.  Neutral 17 

II.  Proposals  for  labor  participation  at  the  Peace  Conference 17 

a.  A  labor  conference  at  the  same  time  and  place 17 

b.  Labor  representation  in  the  peace  delegations  of  participating 

nations 18 

III.  Proposals  as  to  the  terms  of  peace 18 

a.  Political 18 

b.  Industrial 19 

3 


876264 


OPINION  OF  INTERNATIONAL  LABOR  AND  SOCIALIST  GROUPS  ON 
TERMS  OF  THE  PEACE  SETTLEMENT. 


A.  INTRODUCTION. 

This  report  summarizes  the  opinion  of  international  labor  and 
socialist  groups  on  the  terms  of  the  peace  settlement.  It  aims  also 
to  provide  a  background  for  the  consideration  of  international 
machinery  to  regulate  labor  conditions.  For  the  latter  purpose  a 
brief  outline  is  given  of  the  steps  which  have  been  taken  by  various 
labor  and  other  groups  to  promote  international  protective  labor 
legislation.  The  step*  which  governments  have  taken  in  this  direc- 
tion are  outlined  in  greater  detail,  since  these  provide  the  nearest 
approach  to  a  precedent  for  international  action.  In  conclusion,  the 
report  defines  the  attitude  of  labor  and  socialist  groups  since  August. 
1914,  with  reference  to  the  peace  settlement  in  its  political  as  well  as 
its  industrial  aspects. 

B.  UNOFFICIAL   INTERNATIONAL   ACTION   TO   PROMOTE   PROTEC- 
TIVE LABOR  LEGISLATION. 

Organized  international  opinion  in  favor  of  the  regulation  of 
labor  conditions  by  international  means,  exclusive  of  official  treaties 
and  conventions,  is  chiefly  represented  by  three  groups :  The  Socialist 
Internationale,  the  international  trade-union  movement,  and  the 
various  semi-official  international  associations  for  economic  and  social 
reform.     These  will  be  dealt  with  in  the  order  of  their  origin. 

I.  Socialist   Internationale. 

The  Socialist  Internationale  began  to  take  form  about  1864  when 
Karl  Marx  became  the  leader  of  an  organization  of  radicals  called 
the  International  Workingmen's  Association.  The  association  held 
seven  conferences  before  its  dissolution  in  1873,  drawing  an  increas- 
ingly larger  representation  from  all  the  European  countries,  but 
chiefly  from  England,  Germany,  France,  Italy,  and  Switzerland. 
From  1873  to  1889  the  Internationale  was  inactive,  but  socialism 
itself  continued  to  draw  adherents,  for  it  was  during  this  period  that 
political  parties  founded  on  socialist  principles  began  to  appear. 
In  1889  a  new  Internationale  was  formed,  which  held  a  conference  in 
Paris  at  which  20  nationalities  were  represented.  At  the  last  regu- 
lar congress  in  1910,  33  nations  were  present. 


In  all,  nine  international  congresses  have  been  held.  The  resolu- 
tions passed  by  these  congresses  have  dealt  with  both  industrial  and 
political  questions.  For  example,  the  Copenhagen  Congress  in  1910, 
reiterating  the  demands  of  the  1889  Congress,  passed  a  resolution 
containing  the  following  minimum  standard  for  international  legis- 
lation : 

1.  A  maximum  working  day  of  eight  hours. 

2.  Prohibition  of  labor  under  14  years. 

3.  Prohibition  of  night  work  except  when  necessary. 

4.  Uninterrupted  rest  of  3G  hours  a  week  as  a  minimum  for 

all  workers. 

5.  Absolute  right  of  combination. 

6.  Inspection  of  working  conditions,  with  cooperation  of  per- 

sons elected  by  the  workers. 
The  same  congress  resolved  itself  in  favor  of  ultimate  complete  dis- 
armament and  the  abolition  of  secret  diplomacy. 

In  1£00  the  International  Socialist  Bureau  was  founded,  with  head- 
quarters at  Brussels.  The  Bureau  is  a  permanent  organization  of 
delegates  from  every  country,  called  international  secretaries,  who, 
during  the  years  1904  to  1914,  met  one  or  more  times  annually.  Its 
executive  committee  is  composed  of  Belgian  socialists  whose  chair- 
man and  secretary,  respectively,  since  the  year  of  its  founding,  have 
been  Emile  Vandervelde  and  Camille  Huysmans. 

II.  International  Trade-Union  Movement. 

International  working-class  conferences  of  various  kinds  were  held 
at  approximately  the  same  time  as  the  early  Socialist  Internationale. 
The  earliest  of  these  were  general  congresses  of  working-class  repre- 
sentatives and  their  friends,  such  as  the  international  conference  of 
workers  which  met  in  Paris  in  1886.  and  the  International  Labor 
Congress  of  1897  at  Zurich.  Before  these  general  congresses 
disappeared  entirely,  single  crafts  or  groups  of  related  crafts 
had  become  organized  internationally  and  were  holding  conferences 
at  which  each  international  craft  organization  was  represented.  The 
body  of  representatives  was  called  the  International  Trades  Secre- 
tariat. Shortly  after  the  development  of  the  Trades  Secretariat, 
another  international  body  was  formed  called  the  International  Sec- 
retariat, composed  of  representatives  of  the  central  trade  federations 
of  each  nation.    This  body  also  held  periodic  conferences. 

a.  International  Trades  Secretariat. 

Most  of  the  international  craft  federations  began  to  meet  about 
1890,  although  there  are  indications  of  conferences  of  international 
tobacco  workers'  unions  as  early  as  1871  and  1872.  In  1912,  about 
30  trades  were  organized  internationally.  In  that  year,  the  Inter- 
national Metal  Workers'  Federation  and  the  corresponding  federa- 


tion  of  miners  each  had  over  a  million  members.  Trades  like  the 
woodworkers,  printers,  etc.,  whose  total  membership  in  1912  Avas 
smaller,  were  organized  in  from  15  to  '20  countries.  Five  of  the 
trades  published  monthly  papers  in  several  Languages. 

The  conferences  of  the  four  largest  federations,  namely,  the  tobacco 
workers,  transport  workers,  miner-  and  metal  workers,  have  been 
concerned  with  such  questions  as  mutual  assistance  in  strikes,  reci- 
procity agreements  covering  sick  benefits,  traveling  and  death  bene- 
fits, the  reduction  of  working  hours.  Sunday  rest,  the  inauguration 
of  a  minimum  wage,  and  the  protection  of  women  and  children  in 
industry.  In  addition,  transport  workers,  including  dockers,  seamen 
and  railway  men,  favored  nationalization  of  railways  and  other 
means  of  production  and  the  introduction  of  arbitration  courts ; 
miners  advocated  pensions  for  those  injured  in  the  mines  and  their 
widows  and  orphans,  and  nationalization  of  mines.  The  eight -hour 
day  was  advocated  by  all  the  trades. 

The  work  of  these  congresses  has  been  confined  almost  entirely  to 
conducting  propaganda  in  the  various  federated  nations.  For  this 
purpose  the  international  secretary  or  a  specially  appointed  com- 
mittee has  year  after  year  been  instructed  by  the  conference  to  collect 
information  in  the  form  of  statistics  and  reports  concerning  hours, 
wages,  and  conditions  of  work,  to  be  made  available  to  all  the  na- 
tional federations,  in  order  to  push  the  organization  of  workers  in 
countries  which  were  backward  in  this  respect  and  to  promote  con- 
certed action  among  the  unions  of  all  countries. 

Weaker  federations  have  concerned  themselves  primarily  with  the 
question  of  mutual  assistance  in  crises  produced  by  sickness  and 
strikes.  The  problem  of  promoting  international  standards  of  labor 
appears  to  be  a  development  of  the  stronger  federations. 

In  1913  significant  action  was  taken  by  the  sixth  international 
conference  of  tailors,  which  voted  to  send  an  organizer  to  Italy  to 
hold  tailors'  meetings  in  all  frontier  towns. 

The  first  conference  of  the  secretaries  of  the  various  international 
craft  federations  was  held  in  1913.  Steps  were  taken  to  encourage 
uniform  statistics  and  reports  among  all  the  trades,  and  to  link  the 
international  craft  federations  closer  to  the  International  Secretariat. 

b.  International  Secretariat. 

The  Secretariat  has  been  in  existence  for  the  last  two  decades. 
Affiliated  with  it  are  more  than  20  national  labor  federations.  Eight 
international  conferences  have  been  held,  notably  at  Amsterdam, 
Christiania,  Paris,  Budapest,  and  Zurich. 

These  conferences  have  principally  served  as  a  medium  for  the 
interchange  of  international  opinion  on  labor  matters.  Industrial 
lather  than  political  questions  have  been  discussed.     Much  of  the 


8 

energy  of  the  conferences  has  been  spent  in  trying  to  bring  about 
closer  organization  among  the  various  affiliated  national  federations. 
These  efforts,  in  1911  and  1913,  took  the  form  of  two  proposals,  one 
made  by  French  delegates  recommending  international  trade-union 
congresses  and  the  other  by  American  delegates  recommending  the 
establishment  of  an  international  federation  of  labor.  These  pro- 
posals were  referred  to  the  national  centers  for  discussion  in  1911, 
and  again  in  1913  after  favorable  comment  from  the  conference.  In 
1913  the  name  of  the  Secretariat,  on  a  motion  made  by  American 
delegates,  was  changed  to  the  International  Federation  of  Trades 
Unions.  The  change  in  no  wise  effected  a  change  in  organization, 
however. 

In  January,  1913,  appeared  the  first  issue  of  the  International  News 
Letter,  a  bi-monthly  bulletin  containing  a  synopsis  of  international 
labor  conditions.  From  the  time  of  its  establishment  until  July. 
1914.  when  the  last  regular  issue  appeared,  more  than  7.000,000  trade- 
union  members  had  access  to  the  bulletin. 

III.  Semi-Official  Associations  for  Economic  and  Social  Reform. 

Beside  the  international  organizations  of  distinctly  working  class 
•character,  there  have  been  a  number  of  conferences  of  associations  of 
economists  and  professional  men  for  purposes  of  general  economic 
and  social  reform  or  the  study  of  special  aspects  of  the  labor  problem, 
such  as  occupational  diseases,  social  insurance,  housing,  child  labor, 
unemployment  and  the  like.  These  conferences  have  acquired  a 
semi-official  character  because  of  the  participation  in  them  of  states- 
men and  government  officials. 

a.  International  Federation  for  the  Observation  of  Sunday. 

One  of  the  earliest  organizations  of  this  kind,  called  the  Interna- 
tional Federation  for  the  Observation  of  Sunday,  was  largely  re- 
ligious in  origin  and  impulse.  It  met  in  1876.  and  again  in  1878 
and  1885,  and  passed  resolutions  favoring  Sunday  rest  for  railroad 
and  post-office  employees,  telephone  and  telegraph  operators,  sailors, 
and  industrial  workers. 

b.  Permanent  International  Committee  on  Social  Insurance. 

The  International  Congress  of  the  Permanent  International  Com- 
mittee on  Social  Insurance  met  for  the  first  time  in  Paris  in  1889. 
The  Committee  is  composed  of  about  a  dozen  national  committees 
whose  purpose  is  to  encourage  the  adoption  of  insurance  measures 
protecting  the  workman  against  accident,  old  age,  sickness,  and  un- 
employment. Ten  international  conferences  have  been  held  at  irregu- 
lar intervals  varying  from  one  to  three  years  since  the  year  of  its 
founding. 


9 

c.  International  Congress  on  Occupational  Diseases. 

The  International  Congress  on  Occupational  Diseases,  which  met 
first  at  Milan  in  1906,  held  an  important  congress  at  Brussels  in  1910, 
when  representatives,  including  government  officials,  from  20  or 
more  countries  of  Europe,  Asia,  North  and  South  America  were 
present. 

Special  congresses,  such  as  the  Congress  on  Ankylostomasie,  which 
was  held  at  Berlin  in  1907,  and  the  International  Congress  of  Hy- 
giene at  Brussels,  should  also  be  noted. 

d.  International  Association  on  Unemploy?nent. 

The  first  International  Conference  on  Unemployment  was  called 
together  Iw  a  private  foundation  in  Milan,  about  1905.  Representa- 
tives from  Germany,  France,  Belgium,  and  Hungary  participated. 
In  1910  the  International  Association  on  Unemployment  was  formed 
to  encourage  national  efforts  to  combat  unemployment.  The  associa-. 
tion  is  assisted  in  carrying  out  its  investigations  by  the  Permanent 
International  Committee  on  Social  Insurance  and  the  International 
Association  for  Labor  Legislation,  and  in  some  instances  the  national 
sections  of  these  organizations  form  likewise  the  national  sections 
of  the  Association  on  Unemployment,  but  the  two  are  in  other  re- 
spects independent  of  each  other.  National  sections  of  the  Association 
have  been  constituted  in  IT  countries.  In  most  of  these,  local  or  State 
governments  grant  subsidies  to  the  Association  and  otherwise  co- 
operate with  and  indorse  its  activities.  Permanent  headquarters  of 
the  Association  are  in  Ghent,  where  a  third  international  congress 
was  held  in  1913  . 

e.  International  Association  for  Labor  Legislation. 

The  most  important  of  the  nonworking  class  organizations  for  the 
improvement  of  labor  conditions  is  the  International  Association  for 
Labor  Legislation,  which  is  in  some  degree  a  result  of  the  repeated 
demands  of  various  labor  bodies  for  the  establishment  of  an  inter- 
national bureau  of  information.  The  Association  was  formed  in 
Paris  in  1900  by  a  group  of  international  statesmen,  economists  and 
professional  men.  In  1901  an  International  Labor  Office  was  set  up 
at  Basle.  Since  then  the  membership  of  the  Association  has  been 
extended  to  include  more  than  25  countries.  Seven  international 
conferences  have  been  held.  In  the  last  conference  before  the  war, 
held  in  Zurich  in  1912,  22  governments  participated.  Fourteen 
governments  contribute  to  the  support  of  the  International  Labor 
Office.  In  1906  the  Hungarian  Government  formally  invited  the 
conference  to  meet  at  Budapest,  an  invitation  which  was  not  ac- 
cepted, however,  as  political  neutrality  is  one  of  the  policies  of  the 
Association. 

100269—19 2 


10 

At  the  L904  conference  held  at  Basle,  action  was  taken  on  two 
resolutions  submitted  by  the  International  Office  its  a  result  of  several 
years'  study  of  the  effect,  of  night  work  on  the  health  of  women 
workers  find  the  use  of  white  phosphorus  in  the  manufacture  of 
matches.  The  conference  voted  to  request  the  Swiss  Federal  Council 
to  call  an  international  official  conference  to  consider  these  resolu- 
tions: This  action  influenced  the  international  treaties  signed  at 
Berne  in  1906,  prohibiting  night  work  for  women  and  forbidding 
the  use  of  white  phosphorus  in  manufacture. 

The  resolutions  passed  at  the  1912  conference  in  Zurich  indicate  the 
emphasis  put  upon  the  necessity  for  international  action  in  dealing 
with  labor  questions.  They  cover  such  subjects  as  the  administra- 
tion of  international  labor  treaties  and  labor  laws,  child  labor,  rela- 
tions between  employers  and  workmen,  the  regulation  of  home  work, 
hours  of  labor  in  continuous  industries,  the  protection  of  workmen 
from  accident  and  industrial  disease,  workmen's  holidays,  and  the 
length  of  the  working  day. 

In  June,  1918,  the  Association  submitted  to  the  Swiss  Federal 
Council  a  memorandum  requesting  the  latter's  support  for  the  incor- 
poration in  the  world's  peace  treaty  of  a  program  of  international 
protective  labor  legislation.  The  memorandum  designates  the  Inter- 
national Association  for  Labor  Legislation  as  the  recognized  official 
agency  for  the  enforcement  of  international  labor  standards  agreed 
upon,  through  the  International  Office  at  Basle.  The  Office  is  to  be 
supported  by  the  various  signatory  countries.  Standard  forms  for 
reports  bearing  on  the  enforcement  of  labor  laws  are  to  be  drawn  up 
by  the  Office  an  claccepted  by  the  powers  in  a  special  agreement. 

C.  OFFICIAL  INTERNATIONAL  ACTION  REGULATING  LABOR 

CONDITIONS. 

The  following  paragraphs  constitute  a  critical  summary  of  the 
various  conferences  and  agreements  entered  into  by  governments  for 
the  protection  of  workers.  The  material  contained  in  the  summary 
is  grouped  under  four  heads:  (1)  an  historical  review  of  the  agree- 
ments, (2)  an  indication  of  their  volume,  (3)  a  review  of  the  subject 
matter  dealt  with,  and  (4)  a  description  of  the  international  ma- 
chinery either  suggested  or  agreed  upon. 

I.  History  of  Official  International  Agreements. 

The  history  of  international  action  b}7  governments  in  the  inter- 
ests of  better  labor  conditions  goes  back  to  a  suggestion  made  by 
President  Frey  of  the  Swiss  Federal  Council,  to  that  body,  that  the 
Swiss  Government  take  steps  to  encourage  an  agreement  among  the 
industrial  States  of  Europe  regarding  uniform  labor  standards.  In 
1880,  M.  Frey  proposed  to  the  same  body  that  an  official  conference 
be  called  to  consider  the  question. 


11 

The  next  year  the  Swiss  Government  issued  a  circular  to  the  Gov- 
ernments of  the  principal  industrial  States  of  Europe,  inviting  them 
to  a  conference  on  factory  labor.  The  response  was  not  encouraging, 
however,  and  the  proposition  was  dropped  as  premature. 

In  1882,  the  first  treaty  granting  an  international  exchange  of 
savings-bank  facilities  was  made  between  France  and  Belgium.  The 
treaty  itself  is  insignificant  except  as  a  model  for  important  treaties 
"which  followed. 

In  1889,  the  Swiss  Government  again  tried  to  organize  an  official 
international  conference.  This  time  the  powers  were  more  agreeable 
to  the  suggestion  and  a  program  of  deliberations  was  actually  made 
out,  but  at  the  moment  of  its  acceptance,  a  request  came  from  Ger- 
many that  the  Swiss  conference  be  set  aside  for  an  official  conference 
at  Berlin.  The  request  was  granted  and  the  conference  accordingly 
met  at  Berlin  in  1890. 

The  Berlin  conference  was  a  technical  conference  purely.  The 
delegates  were  bound  only  to  recommend  to  their  respective  govern- 
ments the  adoption  of  such  measures  as  were  approved  by  the  con- 
ference.    Fourteen  European  countries  were  present. 

The  action  taken  at  the  1890  meeting  was  never  followed  up.  No 
diplomatic  conference  was  ever  called  to  negotiate  on  the  basis  of 
the  program  formulated.  The  conference  paved  the  way  for  later 
parleys  between  governments,  and  may  have  given  impetus  to  the 
formation  of  the  International  Association  for  Labor  Legislation  in 
1900,  but  left  no  other  permanent  trace. 

In  1904  a  treaty  was  signed  between  France  and  Italy  which  was 
not  only  important  in  itself,  but  by  serving  as  a  model  for  other 
treaties  gave  encouragement  to  international  official  action. 

The  treaty  in  its  inception  was  a  savings-bank  agreement,  pat- 
terned after  the  Franco-Belgian  treaty  of  1882.  As  such  it  benefited 
Italy  more  than  France,  since  there  were  at  that  time  more  Italian 
laborers  in  France  than  French  laborers  in  Italy.  The  French 
Government,  however,  used  the  savings-bank  clause  as  a  means  of 
obtaining  concessions  from  Italy  along  the  line  of  internal  regulation 
of  labor  conditions,  equalizing  the  labor  standards  of  the  two  coun- 
tries, and  thus  removing  a  serious  disadvantage  to  French  industry 
and  commerce. 

Two  other  treaties  between  France  and  Italy  followed  the  treaty 
of  1901,  extending  further  the  principles  laid  down  in  the  first 
agreement.  A  series  of  treaties  dealing  with  accident  and  other 
social  insurance  was  also  founded  on  it. 

In  December,  1901,  steps  were  taken  toward  another  official  con- 
ference. This  time  the  request  came  from  the  International  Asso- 
ciation for  Labor  Legislation  to  the  Swiss  Federal  Council  for  a 


12 

conference  to  consider  two  resolutions  prepared  by  the  International 
Labor  Office. 

Two  conferences  resulted.  First,  a  technical  conference  of  experts 
from  15  countries  to  determine  the  basis  of  the  treaties  to  be  con- 
sidered, was  held  at  Berne  in  1905.  The  formal  official  conference 
met  at  Berne  in  September,  1906,  with  14  States  represented.  These 
two  conferences  resulted  in  the  signing  of  the  treaties  prohibiting 
the  use  of  white  phosphorus  in  the  manufacture  of  matches  and  for- 
bidding night  work  for  women.  The  first  was  signed  by  only  7 
of  the  14  convening  States,  while  the  last  was  signed  by  all. 

In  January,  1913,  the  Swiss  Government  approached  the  coun- 
tries which  had  participated  in  the  1905  and  1906  conference,  with  a 
view  to  considering  further  international  labor  legislation.  Two 
proposals  prepared  by  the  International  Association  for  Labor  Legis- 
lation, prohibiting  night  work  for  young  persons  and  fixing  a 
10-hour  working  day  for  young  persons  and  women,  were  the  basis  of 
consideration.  The  previous  plan  of  a  technical  conference  followed 
by  a  conference  of  diplomatic  representatives,  was  again  used. 

Thirteen  nations  were  present  at  the  preliminary  meeting  at  Berne. 
The  attitude  of  the  conference  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  consensus 
of  opinion  favored  the  adoption  of  international  standards  which 
were  so  low  as  not  to  necessitate  serious  modification  in  the  existing 
legislation  of  any  country.  The  final  protocol  on  night  work  for 
young  persons  affected  Italy  only  of  all  the  important  industrial 
nations,  and  in  regard  to  the  length  of  the  working  day  for  women 
and  young  persons  caused  reductions  in  hours  in  four  countries  only. 
The  age  limit  proposed  was  below  the  age  limit  enforced  in  six  States. 

The  diplomatic  conference  scheduled  for  September,  1914,  was 
never  held  because  of  the  outbreak  of  war.  No  further  group  action 
to  regulate  labor  conditions  has  since  been  taken. 

II.  Volume  of  Agreements. 

In  all,  between  the  years  1882  and  1914,  there  have  been  30  bi-par- 
tite  agreements  affecting  12  European  States,  Japan,  the  United 
States,  the  Transvaal,  and  the  Portuguese  Province  of  Mozambique. 
Four  official  international  conferences  have  been  held — the  first  at 
Berlin  in  1890,  with  14  governments  present;  the  second  at  Berne  in 
1905.  with  15  governments  represented;  the  third,  a  diplomatic  con- 
ference in  1906,  with  13  official  representatives  attending;  and  the 
last  at  Berne  in  1913,  with  13  countries  present.  Two  poly-partite 
treaties  have  been  signed,  both  in  1906. 

III.  Subject  Matter  Dealt  With.     . 

An  analysis  of  the  content  of  the  treaties  divides  them  into  those 
which  extend  to  alien  workmen  the  advantages  and  safeguards  of  the 


13 

industrial  legislation  of  the  country  in  which  they  live  and  work; 
and  those  which  involve  the  simultaneous  adoption  of  the  same  labor 
standards  by  two  or  more  countries. 

To  the  first  class  belong  4  savings-bank  agreements,  similar  to 
the  Franco-Belgian  treaty  of  188:2 ;  19  treaties  which  deal  specifically 
with  accident  insurance,  and  4  which  deal  with  general  social- 
insurance  laws. 

To  the  second  class  belong  the  Franco-Italian  treaties  of  1904,  1906, 
and  1910,  in  which  the  extension  of  savings-bank  facilities  to  alien 
workmen  is  made  the  basis  for  equalizing  the  labor  regulations  of  both 
countries,  particularly  in  regard  to  the  protection  of  young  persons 
and  women  in  industrial  establishments.  The  Berlin  conference  of 
1890  belongs  to  this  class  of  agreement,  although  probably  little  of 
permanent  value  ^resulted  from  it.  Such  discussion  as  there  was 
centered  on  the  regulation  of  work  in  mines,  Sunday  rest,  protective 
measures  for  children,  young  persons,  and  women,  and  the  ma- 
chinery of  enforcement  for  the  measures  which  were  finally  adopted. 
The  Berne  treaties  of  1906,  as  well  as  the  Berne  Conference  of  1913 
which  was  largely  inspired  by  the  success  of  these  treaties,  were  like- 
wise agreements  among  several  nations  to  adopt  the  same  labor  regula- 
tions. This  group  of  international  agreements  is,  therefore,  the  more 
significant  of  the  two  classes  of  agreements,  inasmuch  as  it  involves 
a  change  of  existing  labor  standards  in  accordance  with  standards 
scientifically  determined,  whereas  the  former  involve  merely  the  ex- 
tension of  existing  standards  to  a  larger  group. 

There  are.  in  addition,  three  or  four  miscellaneous  treaties  whose 
classification  as  labor  treaties  is  derived  merely  from  the  fact  that 
they  concern  the  emigration  of  workingmen  from  one  country  to 
another. 

IV.  International  Machinery  Suggested  by  Agreements. 

Discussion  of  proposals  for  enforcing  these  international  agree- 
ments has  particular  significance  for  this  report. 

In  the  agreements  touching  the  protection  of  alien  workmen  by  the 
social  insurance  laws  of  the  country  in  which  they  work,  enforce- 
ment is  quite  generally  left  to  the  local  authorities  with  the  coopera- 
tion of  the  consular  authorities  of  the  alien  country.  In  a  treaty 
between  Italy  and  Hungary  (1909),  there  is  an  added  provision  to 
the  effect  that  an  international  court  of  arbitration  shall  be  created 
for  the  settlement  of  disputes  arising  under  the  treaty. 

Much  discussion  took  place  at  the  1890  conference  over  a  proposal 
made  by  Switzerland  that  a  permanent  international  labor  bureau  be 
formed  to  act  as  a  clearing  house  of  information,  as  well  as  to  plan 
periodic  international  conferences.  The  proposal  was  rejected  in 
favor  of  a  suggestion  by  Germany  that  enforcement  be  left  to  the 


14     ■ 

individual  Stales  and  be  reinforced  by  an  interchange  of  data  among 
them.  The  German  motion  also  contained  a  general  recommendation 
for  a  similar  conference  at  some  future  time. 

At  the  technical  conference  which  preceded  the  signing  of  the 
treaties  of  Berne  in  1906.  Switzerland  proposed  an  organ  to  enforce 
the  phosphorus  agreement.  The  idea  again  met  with  no  favor  and 
was  dropped. 

At  the  ratifying  conference  in  1906  proposals  were  presented  by 
Great  Britain  and  by  France  and  Switzerland  jointly  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  international  commission  to  function  for  the  exchange 
of  views  preliminary  to  the  holding  of  future  international  confer- 
ences. The  British  proposal  empowered  the  commission  also  to  ob- 
serve and  report  on  the  enforcement  of  the  treaties  which  were 
signed  at  that  time ;  whereas  the  French-Swiss  plan  would  have  made 
the  commission  consultative  merely,  on  the  initiative  of  the  States 
themselves. 

Neither  proposal  was  embodied  in  the  final  treaties,  although  10  of 
the  14  signatories  to  the  night-work  treaty  passed  a  resolution  favor- 
ing the  French-Swiss  proposal  and  agreeing  to  its  incorporation  in 
the  final  agreement  on  condition  that  the  other  four  countries  were 
persuaded  also  to  adhere. 

In  default  of  an  international  commission,  the  Swiss  Federal  Coun- 
cil acted  as  an  intermediary  for  the  settlement  of  several  questions 
of  minor  importance  which  developed  in  connection  with  the  1906 
treaties. 

D.  INTERNATIONAL  LABOR  AND  SOCIALIST  OPINION  ON  THE 
PEACE    SETTLEMENT. 

Since  the  first  day-  of  the  war  labor  has  been  one  of  the  chief 
factors  in  the  formulation  of  opinion  regarding  the  aims  of  the  war 
and  the  terms  of  the  final  settlement.  In  so  far  as  international 
labor  opinion  has  been  able  to  express  itself  through  organization, 
it  has  been  concerned  with  two  propositions,  namely,  the  steps  neces- 
sary to  insure  consideration  of  the  special  claims  of  labor  in  the 
peace  treaty,  and  the  formulation  of  the  specific  purposes  for  which 
consideration  is  desired.  These  aims  have  been  resolved  by  means 
of  a  series  of  international  conferences  which  will  be  treated  apart 
from  the  subject  matter  with  which  they  deal. 

I.  Labor  and  Socialist  Conferences  During  the  War. 

a.  Inter-aZUed. 

The  first  of  these  was  held  in  London  February  14,  1915.  Labor 
and  socialist  representatives  from  England,  France,  Belgium,  and 
Russia  were  present.  Resolutions  were  passed  dealing  with  the  ter- 
ritorial provisions  of  the  peace  treaty,  favoring  the  establishment 


15 

of  a  super-national  authority  to  keep  peace  among  nations,  and  con- 
demning secret  diplomacy. 

Representatives  of  trade  unions  from  England.  France.  Belgium, 
and  Italy  met  in  Paris  in  May,  1916  to  make  plans  for  a  later  meeting, 
at  which  it  was  proposed  to  discuss  an  international  labor  conference 
to  be  held  at  the  same  time  and  place  as  the  Peace  Conference,  and  the 
formulation  of  labor  clauses  to  be  included  in  the  peace  treaty. 

Two  months  later,  the  International  Congress  of  Trades  Unions 
met  at  Leeds.  The  proposal  for  an  international  labor  conference 
at  the  same  time  and  place  as  the  Peace  Conference  was  rejected  in 
favor  of  a  conference  he  fore  peace  negotiations  were  begun,  for  the 
purpose  of  discussing  syndicalistic  and  social  matters  exclusively. 
The  congress  also  adopted  the  report  drawn  up  by  M.  Jouhaux,  of 
the  French  Confederation  Generale  du  Travail,  containing  the  special 
labor  standards  which  it  was  desired  to  make  part  of  the  peace  treaty. 

An  inter-allied  socialist  congress  was  to  have  been  held  in  Paris 
the  early  part  of  1917,  but  did  not  take  place  because  of  the  refusal 
of  the  British  Labor  Party  to  send  delegates.  The  refusal  was  based 
on  objection  to  the  narrowness  of  the  program,  which  contained  only 
two  questions,  namely,  condemnation  of  a  war  of  aggression  and  de- 
nunciation of  economic  war  after  the  war. 

A  later  Allied  Conference  was  called  hy  the  British  section  of  the 
Socialist  Internationale  in  August,  1917,  for  the  purpose  of  discuss- 
ing the  Inter-allied  War  Aims  drawn  up  by  the  special  committee  of 
the  British  Labor  Party  and  Trades  Union  Congress.  Final  agree- 
ment on  the  Aims  was  not  reached,  however.  The  conference  voted 
to  attend  the  proposed  meeting,  at  Stockholm,  at  which  socialists 
from  all  the  warring  countries  were  expected  to  be  present. 

The  Trades  Union  Congress  of  the  allied  nations  met  in  London 
in  September  of  the  same  year  to  discuss  moving  the  headquarters 
of  the  International  Federation  of  Trades  Unions  from  Berlin  to  a 
neutral  country.  As  this  could  not  be  done  without  the  cooperation 
of  the  German  members  of  the  Federation,  it  was  decided  to  call  an 
international  conference  at  Berne,  and  to  have  French  and  Serbian 
delegates  to  the  conference  report  its  conclusions  to  British.  Ameri- 
can, and  Canadian  federations,  inasmuch  as  the  latter  refused  to  meet 
with  delegates  from  the  enemy  countries. 

An  important  Inter-allied  Labor  and  Socialist  Conference  was 
held  in  London  February,  1918,  followed  by  a  later  one  in  September. 
Delegates  from  Great  Britain,  France,  Belgium,  and  Italy  were  pres- 
ent at  the  first  meeting.  The  American  Federation  of  Labor  received 
notice  of  the  meeting  too  late  to  attend.  Comprehensive  proposals 
relating  to  political  and  industrial  aspects  of  the  peace  treaty  were 
drawn  up  and  accepted. 


16 

At  the  September  meeting  the  United  States,  Canada,  Greece,  Ser- 
bia, and  Roumania  were  also  represented.  Consideration  was  given 
to  replies  received  from  enemy  socialists  in  answer  to  the  proposals 
made  at  the  February  conference.  Satisfaction  was  expressed  with 
the  response  from  Bulgarian  and  Hungarian  socialists  and  from  the 
German  Social  Democratic  Party  of  Austria,  but  the  reply  of  the 
German  majority  socialists  was  voted  a  bar  to  the  holding  of  an 
international  meeting.  It  was  voted  by  the  conference  to  continue  to 
state  inter-allied  aims  by  means  of  national  and  inter-allied  con- 
gresses. 
b.  International. 

These  sum  themselves  up  in  a  number  of  frustrated  attempts  to 
hold  meetings  of  delegates  from  allied  and  enemy  nations,  some  of 
which  did  not  evolve  beyond  mere  proposals,  and  include  a  meeting 
between  delegates  from  the  Central  Powers  and  neutral  nations 
which  had  considerable  significance. 

An  International  Socialist  Congress  was  proposed  in  1914,  but 
French  socialists  refused  to  attend  as  long  as  the  enemy  was  on 
French  soil,  and  the  congress  was  not  held.  This  attitude  was  con- 
firmed in  1916,  when  the  Confederation  Generale  du  Travail,  by  a 
small  majority,  voted  against  the  resumption  of  friendly  relations 
with  labor  delegates  from  enemy  countries. 

In  1917  the  proposal  to  convene  an  international  socialist  congress 
at  Stockholm  agitated  labor  and  socialist  groups  in  every  country. 
The  conference  was  called  by  the  International  Socialist  Bureau, 
with  the  cooperation  of  representatives  of  the  Russian  Council  of 
"Workmen's  and  Soldiers'  Deputies  and  the  Dutch-Scandinavian 
Socialist  Committee.  The  meeting  was  favored  by  the  British  Labor 
Party  and  by  the  Inter- Allied  Socialist  Conference  of  August.  1917, 
but  was  never  held  because  of  the  failure  of  the  delegates  from 
allied  nations  to  receive  passports.  Delegations  from  other  countries 
did  not  arrive  at  Stockholm  simultaneously. 

The  same  year  the  international  conference  which  was  to  consider 
moving  the  headquarters  of  the  International  Federation  of  Trades 
Unions  from  Berlin  to  a  neutral  country  met  at  Berne  (Ociober, 
1917).  Representatives  from  Germany,  Austria,  Hungary,  Den- 
mark. Norway,  Sweden,  Holland,  Switzerland,  Bulgaria,  and 
Bohemia  were  present.  Delegates  from  Great  Britain,  the  United 
States,  and  Belgium  declined  to  attend,  and  French  and  Italian  dele- 
gates were  denied  passports.  The  conference  adopted  resolutions  in 
favor  of.  general  protective  legislation  providing  certain  minimum 
industrial  standards. 

In  1917  also,  the  Executive  of  the  British  Labor  Party,  in  con- 
junction with  the  Parliamentary  Committee  of  the  Trades  Union 
Congress,    instituted    measures    to    secure    international    agreement 


17 

among  labor  and  socialist  groups.  This  action  took  the  form  of 
drawing  up  a  Memorandum  of  Inter-allied  War  Aims,  which  was 
made  the  basis  of  international  as  well  as  inter-allied  discussion. 

The  Inter-allied  Labor  and  Socialist  Conference  which  met  in 
February.  191b,  and  the  British  Trades  Union  Congress  the  follow- 
ing September,  both  passed  resolutions  favoring  an  international 
labor  and  socialist  conference  in  principle.  More  recently  still, 
Scandinavian  trade-union  federations  in  joint  conference  decided  to 
call  an  international  trade  meeting  as  soon  as  peace  was  declared, 
in  order  to  reconstitute  the  international  labor  movement  and  con- 
sider international  economic  stabilization. 
c.  Neutral. 

Two  conferences  of  socialists  from  neutral  nations  have  been  held 
in  addition  to  the  Scandinavian  meeting.  The  first  of  these  was 
called  by  the  Danish  section  of  the  International  Socialist  Bureau 
and  met  in  Copenhagen,  January,  1915.  In  June,  1916,  another  meet- 
ing of  neutrals  was  called  by  the  Bureau  to  meet  at  The  Hague. 

II.  Proposals  for  Labor  Participation  at  the  Peace  Conference. 

Discussion  of  the  way  in  which  voice  should  be  given  to  organized 
labor  opinion  regarding  the  final  treaty  of  peace  has  centered  around 
two  proposals:  (1)  for  a  labor  and  socialist  conference  at  the  same 
time  and  place  as  the  Peace  Conference;  (2)  for  labor  representation 
in  the  peace  delegations  of  each  of  the  countries  participating  in  the 
settlement. 

The  first  proposal  was  made  originally  by  the  American  Federa- 
tion of  Labor  at  its  annual  convention  in  1914,  and  specified  that 
the  conference  should  be  international.  The  Canadian  Trades 
Union  Congress  and  the  French  Confederation  Generale  du  Travail 
both  indorsed  the  American  proposal  after  a  considerable  lapse  of 
time,  but  other  allied  labor  groups  preferred  an  inter-allied  instead 
of  an  international  meeting.  The  British  Trades  LTnion  Congress 
in  1916  voted  2  to  1  against  the  American  motion,  but  in  1917  the 
Congress  not  only  voted  that  an  international  conference  was  a 
necessary  preliminary  to  peace,  but  in  October,  1918,  joined  with 
the  British  Labor  Party  in  making  a  formal  request  of  the  British 
Government  for  permission  to  attend  such  a  conference. 

The  principle  of  an  inter-allied  conference  was  indorsed  by  both  in- 
ter-allied conferences  held  in  London  in  1918.  The  February  confer- 
ence appointed  a  commission  to  organize  delegates  to  the  conference. 

Recent  reports  indicate  that  a  labor  and  socialist  conference  will  be 
held  at  Berne  during  the  progress  of  the  Peace  Conference  with 
socialist  representatives  from  Austria  and  Germany  present.  Plans 
are  being  made  to  hold  an  International  Trades  Union  Congress 


13 

simultaneously  with  the  Peace  Conference  also,  but  the  two  labor 
congresses  will  not  meet  together. 

The  second  propositi,  namely  for  labor  representation  in  the  vari- 
ous peace  delegations,  was  first  urged  by  the  American  Federation 
of  Labor  at  its  1916  convention.  The  Berne  conference  of  October, 
1917,  framed  a  resolution  asking  for  the  participation  of  trade  union 
representatives  in  the  consideration  of  social  economic  questions  at 
the  Peace  Conference.  The  Confederation  Generale  du  Travail  and 
the  Inter- Allied  Labor  and  Socialist  Conference  of  February,  1918. 
have  each  voted  for  labor  representation  at  the  peace  table. 

On  October  9  last  the  British  Labor  Party  and  the  Trades  Union 
Congress  requested  the  British  Government  to  include  an  official 
representative  of  labor  in  the  peace  delegation.  A  similar  request 
has  been  made  to  the  French  Government,  M.  Emile  Vandervelde, 
Minister  of  Justice  and  President  of  the  International  Socialist 
Bureau,  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  Belgian  delegates  to  the  Peace  Con- 
ference. 

III.  Proposals  as  to  the  Terms  of  Peace. 
a.  Political. 

Opinion  regarding  political  aspects  of  the  peace  settlement  con- 
cern general  peace  terms,  the  League  of  Nations,  and  specific  ques- 
tions such  as  the  abolition  of  secret  diplomacy,  limitation  of  arma- 
ments, right  of  self-determination,  economic  war  after  the  war  and 
the  like. 

The  most  conspicuous  definition  of  allied  war  aims  by  labor  con- 
sists of  the  Memorandum  on  War  Aims  framed  by  the  British  Labor 
Party  and  the  Trades  Union  Congress  jointly.  The  War  Aims  were 
originally  drawn  up  by  a  subcommittee  of  the  National  Executive  of 
the  Labor  Party,  consisting  of  Arthur  Henderson,  Ramsay  Mac- 
Donald.  F.  W.  Jowett.  G.  H.  Roberts,  George  J.  Wardle,  and  Sidney 
Webb.  They  were  presented  to  the  Inter-Allied  Labor  and  Socialist 
Conference  in  London  August,  1917,  but  agreement  on  the  terms 
was  not  reached  and  a  standing  committee  was  appointed  to  give 
further  consideration  to  the  memorandum.  The  following  month  the 
Trades  Union  Congress  and  the  Labor  Party  joined  forces  in  the  task 
of  bringing  about  a  general  agreement  of  war  aims  among  the 
working  classes  of  the  allied  nations.  The  Aims  were  revised,  and 
after  approval  by  the  national  committees  of  the  two  bodies,  were 
presented  to  Premier  Lloyd  George  as  the  opinion  of  the  organized 
workers  of  Great  Britain. 

The  memorandum  was  accepted  by  the  Labor  Party  in  conference 
on  January  23-25.  1918,  and  by  labor  representatives  of  the  allied 
nations  in  conference  on  February  20-23,  1918. 

President  Wilson's  Fourteen  Points  have  received  significant  in- 
dorsement from  such  representative  labor  groups  as  the  Inter- Allied 


,19 

Conference  of  September,  1918,  the  Confederation  Generate  clu  Trav- 
ail, and  the  French  Socialist  Conference  of  October,  1918.  In  No- 
vember  the  convention  of  the  Pan-American  Federation  of  Labor  at 
Laredo,  Tex.,  passed  a  resolution  adopting  the  aims  formulated  by 
the  American  Federation  of  Labor  in  1917  which  were  expressly 
based  on  the  President's  peace  principles. 

Besides  the  general  indorsement  by  labor  of  terms  of  peace  either 
based  on  the  Fourteen  Points,  or  similar  to  them  in  spirit  and  inten- 
tion, support  of  the  plan  for  a  League  of  Nations  to  be  incorporated 
in  the  settlement  has  been  unanimous. 

In  1915,  before  the  League  of  Nations  plan  had  been  clearly  de- 
fined, labor  groups  began  to  formulate  proposals  which  embodied  the 
principle  of  an  international  authority  to  arbitrate  in  disputes  be- 
tween nations.  The  Inter-Allied  Conference  of  February,  1915,  called 
the  workers  of  every  country  to  unite  for  the  purpose  of  helping  to 
establish  such  a  body.  The  Comite  Confederal  the  same  year  de- 
clared in  favor  of  the  principle  of  compulsory  arbitration  in  all  con- 
flicts between  nations.  In  1915  also  the  Fabian  Society  drew  up  a 
scheme  for  a  League  of  Nations,  including  an  international  high 
court  and  an  international  legislative  organization.  The  international 
Congress  of  Trade-Unions  in  July,  1916,  on  accepting  the  report  of 
the  French  delegates  containing  international  labor  standards  to  be 
considered  in  the  terms  of  peace,  indorsed  the  idea  of  an  international 
commission  to  control  the  enforcement  of  these  standards.  The 
British  Labor  Party,  the  Trades-TJnion  Congress,  the  Confederation 
Generale  du  Travail  and  the  Inter-Allied  Socialist  Conference  of 
August,  1917,  all  went  on  record  in  1917  as  favoring  a  League  of 
Nations.  In  addition  the  German  Socialist  majority  and  minority 
parties  have  expressed  support  of  the  plan. 

Certain  specific  points  in  the  peace  program  have  received  special 
indorsement.  The  right  of  small  nations  to  self-determination,  limi- 
tation of  armaments,  and  abolition  of  secret  diplomacy  have  been 
adopted  as  political  ideals  at  least  five  distinct  times  by  British, 
French,  and  American  labor  groups,  as  well  as  by  German  and  Aus- 
trian socialists.  The  same  allied  groups  have  expressed  condemna- 
tion of  the  program  adopted  by  the  Paris  Economic  Conference  of 
June,  1916,  involving  an  economic  war  after  the  war. 

b.  Industrial. 

Labor  standards  put  forward  by  international  labor  groups  for 
incorporation  in  the  peace  treaty  are  fairly  uniform.  The  protection 
of  women  and  children,  social  insurance  provisions,  prohibition  of 
night  work,  the  8-hour  day,  safe  and  sanitary  working  conditions 
have  been  indorsed  by  all  the  important  inter-allied  conferences  and 
bv  the  international  conference  at  Berne  in  1917  in  which  neutral 


20 

nations,  as  well  as  Germany,  Austria,  and  countries  allied  with  them. 
participated. 

Certain  of  these  conferences  have  stressed  additional  points.  The 
Inter- A  Hied  Congress  of  Leeds,  1916,  favored  general  clauses  in  the 
Peace  Treaty,  guaranteeing  the  right  to  organize  and  the  right  .of 
free  movement,  and  providing  measures  to  protect  workmen  against 
unemployment.  The  Memorandum  on  War  Aims  includes  a  clause 
urging  the  prevention  of  "  sweating "  and  unhealthy  trades.  The 
International  Conference  at  Berne  emphasized  the  need  for  regulat- 
ing home  work.  The  British  General  Federation  of  Trades  Unions, 
in  a  letter  to  the  Prime  Minister  September  G,  1918,  urged  inter- 
national legislation  dealing  among  other  things  with  the  importance 
of  rest  days.  The  American  Federation  of  Labor  draws  attention 
to  the  necessity  of  abolishing  child  labor  and  establishing  a  basic 
8-hour  workday-  These  aims  have  been  indorsed  by  the  Pan-Ameri- 
can Federation  also. 

Finally,  the  Labor  Committee  of  the  French  Chamber  of  Deputies 
has  adopted  a  report  on  labor  clauses  to  be  included  in  the  Peace 
Treaty,  which  includes  the  measures  considered  by  the  official  inter- 
national conference  at  Berne  in  1913,  prohibiting  night  work  for 
young  persons  and  fixing  a  10-hour  workday  for  women  and  chil- 
dren in  industry. 

o 


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7809     policies  board  - 
U5flr     Report   on   inter- 
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agH  mp-^hinery 


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